On India's Streets, Women Run a Gantlet of Harassment

By

Amol Sharma,

Biman Mukherji and

Rupa Subramanya

Feb. 27, 2013 10:30 p.m. ET

BARASAT, India—Juhi Nondi, a 20-year-old college student, takes the train every day to and from school here, toting a satchel of textbooks and looking stylish in her skinny jeans and T-shirts—and long, sharp fingernails.

"They're not just for fashion," she says of her pink nails, "but also for self-defense."

Aggressive sexual harassment is a daily part of her commute in this bustling suburb of Kolkata. A...